Mine flood traps 42 workers in Henan
(Xinhua/AP)
Updated: 2005-12-03 11:32

Rescuers in central China are searching for 42 miners trapped after a flood at a coal mine, while at another mine the discovery of three more bodies brought the death toll of an explosion last week to 169, the government said.

There was no indication if the miners had survived the flood in central China's Henan Province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Forty-two miners were trapped beneath the ground when a coal mine in Xin'an County, central China's Henan Province, was flooded at 11:40 Friday.

Information from Henan Provincial Bureau of Coal Industry said altogether 48 miners were working underground as the flooding took place late Friday night at Sigou Coal Mine in Shisi Township of Xin'an, a county northwest to Luoyang City.

Only six miners escaped the site of the flooding.

Also Saturday, the death toll in a coal mine explosion in China's bitterly cold northeast rose to 169 after rescuers found three more bodies in the underground debris, Xinhua said.

The government has unveiled one initiative after another to try to stem the carnage, promising to step up safety inspections and punish mine owners who put profits over lives.

Mine accidents in China killed 6,027 people last year, according to government figures -- a rate of 16 deaths each day.